A Head Full of Ghosts

The Barretts are an ordinary suburban New England family—until fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins experiencing terrifying changes that doctors cannot explain or control.

As Marjorie’s condition worsens, her parents watch helplessly as their once-stable home becomes increasingly chaotic and frightening. Desperate for answers, they turn to Father Wanderly, a local Catholic priest who believes Marjorie isn't suffering from a psychiatric illness at all. He believes she is possessed.

With medical bills mounting and Marjorie's father, John, unable to find work, the family agrees to let a production company document their ordeal. What begins as a desperate attempt to survive becomes The Possession, a reality television show that turns the Barretts' private nightmare into public entertainment.

As the cameras keep rolling, the line between illness and possession, faith and exploitation, begins to blur. Then something happens inside the Barrett home that no one can explain—and the footage captured by the show turns the Barretts into the subject of a story that will outlive them.

Fifteen years later, the events surrounding Marjorie and The Possession have become the stuff of urban legend. But as a bestselling writer interviews Marjorie’s younger sister, Merry. As she recalls those long ago events that took place when she was just eight years old, secrets and painful memories that clash with what was broadcast on television begin to surface—and a mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.